Life reaches out and touches us

Tangling in our guts

Resonating

Entering through eyes which wonder

A chest that throbs

Veins pulsing

Nose crinkling

One moment intoxicated

The next repelled

By an onslaught of smells

Hairs dancing up my arm

Tastebuds squirting

Feet hurting

And that patch of tree hung shade

dropping the temperature of air I breathe in

Welcome relief

I lean on the railing

Enjoying the view

Loving anew

from within my thin,

slightly sunburnt

Skin

*a lot of walking on the week-end. A lot of wonder and living and immersion. The city is what it is and it doesn’t care for our opinion. Brisbane. Beautiful just here, awful over there and everything in between.

What I found most striking about being out of my usual environment was how my body responded.

You can scroll through Instagram looking at art but when you’re standing in front of something that is stunning visually – it engages all your senses. Goosebumps, the roll of your guts, the heartbeat picking up. I was moved to tears in some cases – and that was just our visit to the art gallery.

This piece particularly – life sized almost. I went and found my husband and dragged him to look at it. We were both affected not just by her story but also the calibre of carving. Up close she haunts, and continues to even several hours away at home. https://collection.qagoma.qld.gov.au/objects/12097

Sitting on our blanket in a patch of sunlight, the shade creeping across the ground before finally enveloping us. The change in light, the smell of the earth, other people surrounding us. And the music. My God it was good. Aussie rock is the best rock music, and it was so loud the sound of the instruments seem to pull strings from within, the drum beat ricocheting through my own heart beat, dislodging, sloughing off stress and worry until we were just two kids laughing at each other.

Walking on rough pavement in high heels to a restaurant that was possibly one of the most beautiful buildings I have ever sat in. White wedding cake plaster ceilings, timber panelling, wrought iron and soaringnwindows, plants tumbling everywhere – and the food was delicious.

Walking through crowds that press into our airspace, the juxtaposition of perfume followed by body odour, kind eyes, aggression, sadness, blank expression.

The wealthy in their Ralph Lauren, loafers walking past a homeless man passed out in a doorway at 12pm.

Contrast everywhere

Noise

Humidity

Frigid Airconditioning and quiet despite, then back to the sweaty noisy streets

I barely glanced at my phone the entire week-end.

People are welcome to Meta, but I don’t think it’s going to stick Mark Zuckerberg – life is just too interesting.

Immersion – my skin is still bouncing. Header photo, a crane on the river. We spent a fair bit of time walking through the botanical gardens, down to the river and along it’s banks. If I lived in the city, I would be constantly by the river, in the parks.